The Bathrobe Knight: Volume 3 (24 page)

“So you weren’t always red-eyed? It’s a new trait?” Darwin’s mind shifted to thoughts of his conversation with Stephanie and Eve from earlier.
This reeks of Stephanie. What in the heck did she do?
“Why are you the only one who has changed though?” he said, proceeding to the next logical question.
There are several other players in the game who have joined up with me, so why is Valerie the only one exhibiting signs of a transformation? Why is she the only one?
The only person who could possibly answer that question wasn’t there at the moment, but Darwin knew that he would likely see her that night--a benefit of sharing the same bed.

“No, it was a surprise to me. I wouldn’t have noticed it if my mother didn’t point it out. The doctor thought I was wearing contacts, and I didn’t want to correct anyone until I talked to you. Is this . . . Is this some kind of disease?” Valerie asked the question in a timid fashion, but she still had the same happy gleam in her eye from earlier. “Are there negative side effects I should be worried about?”

Why does she look so satisfied if she is asking about whether or not it's a disease?
“Well . . .” Darwin debated on whether or not to tell her about the sanity problem.
She already knows that I’ve had problems controlling the skill, but Stephanie made it sound like it was a problem only men had, not one that the women of the species shared. After all, isn’t Stephanie over a century old? And don't the symptoms start around the age of thirty?
“Well, not for women,” he shrugged. “It’s got a few symptoms, but from what the girl demons say, the bad stuff seems to be sexist and favors only attacking one gender.”

Valerie’s grin grew again, finally matching the gleam. “Great! So I get my legs back and there isn’t any downside?”

“Nope, not that I can think of, but that is going to vary person to person. The problems are supposed to affect every man over thirty, but there are plenty of men in this particular camp past that age that haven’t shown even the first symptoms yet, so you might not have what I have,” Darwin answered honestly. “Then again, their conversion has been pretty recent, so maybe it isn’t based on the age, but rather the duration in which the person has been in the state . . . Or maybe the game itself controls it.”

“Out of curiosity, what happens at thirty years old that causes men issues?” Valerie’s right eyebrow raised and her lips twisted to match.

She does have a right to know, doesn’t she? I mean, even though she isn’t a man, she still might be plagued by the madness too.
Darwin debated whether or not to air the entirety of his dirty laundry for her. He summed it up to the best of his ability in one sentence: “We grow a bloodlust that drives us into a state of uncontrollable rage.”

“Ah, that doesn’t sound pleasant at all,” she said. Her smile remained for half a breath but then suddenly faded. “Wait, do you mean you go crazy? Like, do you see stuff?”

“No, it’s more of an out-of-body experience. It’s like drinking so much you black out, and your body keeps running, but your mind has completely shut down. When you come to--if you come to--you don’t remember everything you’ve done. You just kind of know that you’ve done bad stuff and, hopefully, to bad people.”

“I see . . .” Valerie paused. “But there aren’t any visions?”

“Well, there will be for you,” a new voice joined the mix, and Darwin felt soft hands rubbing against his shoulder.

Ah, that feels good.
Darwin took a deep breath. He was almost positive that her hands were magic as they worked out stress and relieved tension Darwin didn’t even know he had built up. “Stephanie?” he asked, recognizing the voice but feeling a need to double check who it was. After all, if it wasn’t Stephanie, he didn’t want to find out whether or not Stephanie fit the stereotype that watching television, listening to music and reading the newspaper had built up in his head of the crazy girlfriend who was certain to misunderstand such a situation.

“Of course, darling,” she said, leaning over and hugging him from behind. “Unless you were hoping it was another girl? Maybe a brunette in a white dress?”

Kass?
His mind flashed the image and his cheeks colored with a hint of red. Not a full blush, but at least a hint. “Why would I ever be expecting anyone else?” He did his best to give a perfect response.

“I don’t know. You are kind of a demon in the sack, so who is to say whether or not you have a string of women who might line up to try it out?” She laughed, sliding around his body while still hugging him until her arms were draped around him as she sat in his lap. This time, her remark had caused Valerie’s face to flush. She didn’t just redden a little: She was positively the color of a rose. “See? Look at her. Even she’s got a vivid image of it in her head already. Do you think she wants to join us?” Stephanie winked at Valerie in a way that made it look like she was trying to hide it from Darwin, but her whole body moved with the gesture, so he couldn’t have missed it if he had tried.

“I . . .” Valerie paused and then lowered her eyebrows and locked eyes with Darwin. “I can’t imagine the experience not being worth at least a try.”

What?
Darwin’s mouth fell open.
What just happened? No, this isn’t right. Isn’t Valerie the same girl who believes in romance so much so that she went ballistic and betrayed her own people over a guy that she had only ever kissed?
The facts scrambled in his brain as he struggled to add them up properly, but he had just about as much success putting it together as a guy who couldn’t match the round peg to the round hole or a kindergartener trying to get a PhD.
She can’t be that type of girl all of the sudden, can she?

“That’s a girl. So what did you see?”

“Huh?” Valerie played dumb.

Darwin was starting to notice that, other than the one time he had mentioned the insanity, her eyes shined past her facial expression, like the glow at the top of a lighthouse that penetrated even the darkest fog.
It’s almost enchanting. It’s like her optimism is more persistent than student loan bills for the fresh American college graduate.
Darwin admired her enthusiasm as he commented to himself on her eyes.
Even the most benign fairytales don’t have endings happy enough to justify that look.
He felt somewhat jealous, but, no matter what his feelings were concerning the look itself, after scanning his memory to the best of his ability, he couldn’t think of a single time in which she had shown those radiant eyes before her metamorphosis.

“I mean, when you were in the battle, when you saved the StormGuard Alliance form losing any people, what did you see?” Stephanie spelled it out.

“Oh? I don’t know. I guess I saw two guilds, so I--” She began explaining, but Stephanie raised her hand and talked over her before she could get further.

“Don’t play coy or mistake this visage. I’m just like you in real life. What did you see?” she repeated again.

“I saw flashes of my past, memories that led me to a battle strategy which helped me trounce those gullible goons that grated against my nerves.” She smiled with an open mouth that bared her teeth. “It was interesting.”

“Ah, so it did happen. And here I was worried that you weren’t just playing stupid. Like, you totes shouldn’t, like, do that.” Stephanie stuck out her tongue while winking one of her eyes again, causing both of them to laugh.

“I’ll have to remember to check how much wool I have before trying to pull any of it over your eyes,” Valerie giggled.

Why do I feel like this is a trap, and I’ve already been caught?
Darwin laughed helplessly to himself.

“Dear, you can take the sheets off if you want. It won’t bother me at all,” Stephanie teased again. “But would it really be in your best interest to trick me? After all, aren’t I the only one who knows your situation? Well, at least the only sympathetic ear?”

“Wolves are known to wear the clothing of sheep,” Valerie replied coldly.

“And sheep uneaten kill themselves through stupidity and starvation.” Stephanie didn’t shrug, but her words left it to be felt.

“Well, then perhaps we should call in Justin and order a drink to stave off starvation with some proper consumption.” Valerie’s words had the same mark of arrogance Darwin had grown somewhat accustomed to as of late from Stephanie. It was almost like he was talking to two Stephanies, except one didn’t have the same enthusiasm for old video games--or at least Darwin didn’t think Valerie did.

“That’s not a bad idea. I always like a little wine when I dine, and your bravado is so cute I could practically eat you up,” Stephanie laughed.

“Alright, enough.” Darwin did his best to slam his foot down, but being seated with a girl in his lap made it rather difficult. He wasn’t familiar enough with cat fights or word-play skirmishes in general to tell the difference, but he knew he didn’t like being left out of the conversation as the two exchanged what felt like barbs back and forth. “We’re going to keep it civil, straight, clean and start back at the beginning.”

“If we don’t, will you spank us?” Stephanie put on a face that was anything but innocent.

“Worse. I’ll ignore you,” Darwin threatened.

“Oh! I see how you’re playing this. Fine then, but there isn’t really much that needs explaining. Valerie is a demon now, like us.” Stephanie smiled. “In fact, you could say she’s the first true demon born on this particular planet.”

“How though? And what were you talking about with visions? Valerie, you said you saw flashes of the past that led you to victory?”

“Yes . . . and no?” Valerie’s face twitched. “It was like I was seeing an answer through a story to a question I hadn’t asked.”

So that’s why she was worried when I said that demons went insane. She’s already talking funny.
Darwin struggled to piece together what she meant. Her response felt more like a fortune cookie than an explanation.

“Why did it happen to Valerie and not the others?” Darwin asked Stephanie, brushing off the ambiguity in Valerie’s response.
It’s not like I’m going to get anywhere with her anyways.

“That’s complicated,” Stephanie replied, “and to explain it would be troublesome.”

“For you or for us?” Darwin suppressed a glare.
How is an explanation on why someone’s physiology in real life changed based on in-game guild membership too troublesome to explain?

“Me? I mean, it’s a lot more fun watching you try to figure it out. It’s kind of adorable, actually.” Stephanie, who was still sitting in his lap, gave him a big hug and kissed him on his forehead right between the horns. “You’re always adorable though.”

I’m pretty sure I should be angry at her for this.
He did his best to eye the patronizing woman contemptuously, but he failed. Even though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why, staying mad at Stephanie, despite the fact that he had a legitimate reason to be angry, was as difficult as a good father trying to be mad at his daughter who almost died in a car wreck for totaling the vehicle. Even though fixing the vehicle might cost him a fortune and set him back years in savings, nothing could replace the life of his daughter or change how he felt about his child. “How many more will turn?” Darwin said, trying to jump ahead with more questions.

After talking to Eve and hearing about the demons’ past at the dinner table the night before, he was beginning to understand Stephanie. It was easy to sit back and assume that she was just an arrogant gamer, but the truth was much uglier. She had likely spent an unfathomable amount of time in a constant life or death struggle against a species that sought to commit genocide on a level that was unprecedented in today’s world. Hundreds of millions of people were murdered out of greed and jealousy, and she had to watch. She had to watch as her way of life, her family, her friends and possibly even her parents were butchered, yet here she was smiling. That’s why, when Darwin asked how many more would turn, he wasn’t just asking that question. He was asking a broader question with an assumption tied to it: How many people do you plan on sparing? It was that reason, that clear understanding of her intent, that left him feeling sick. It was as if he were, before even knowing the details, tacitly agreeing to her grand scheme--a plan that would pale the carnage the humans likely wrought on her own people.
If she turns everyone, she wins without murder, right?
He somewhat hoped that she had given up on hungering for bloodshed. He could only hope she had forgotten the sins that had been committed against her.
Against me? What would my life have been like in a world with the technology to create something like Tiqpa? In a world where I wouldn’t have been an outcast, where violence wouldn’t have existed, and I could have spent an eternity in paradise?
Darwin became lost in the questions, chasing the illusion of stolen happiness in a reality he would never know.

“Does he do that a lot?” Valerie asked, tilting her head to the left in perplexity. “Just kind of fade out into his own thoughts mid-conversation?”

“I wish I could say he doesn’t,” Stephanie laughed back. “But to answer your question, Darwin: Enough.”

“So there will be more like me?” Valerie asked. “Will they also be healed?”

“And more,” Stephanie nodded. “They will also be hated. Trust me on that. A crippled woman may be pitied, an average girl may be liked and ignored, but a great woman is guaranteed to be hated. You, Valerie, by race alone, are now a great woman.”